Class of 2016

2016 Georgia Hall of Fame

Michael C. Conrads
Career Achievement - Board Volunteer
Boys & Girls Club of North Central Georgia - Monroe, GA

Mike Conrads holds a BS in Business from Wake Forest University and MBA from Southern Methodist University. He is married to the lovely Cindy Beatty Conrads His service club involvement includes Kiwanis and St. Vincent DePaul. Mike is also a member of the Habitat Board, St. James Finance Committee and Riverwalk on the Applachee HOA. For the last six years he has served as Chairman of the Board for Boys & Girls Clubs of North Central Georgia.  
Words are not a simple task to describe the impact Mr. Conrads has on the lives of the children and staff we serve through the BGCNCG. He is a mentor, a leader, a teacher, a educator, a community advocate, a visionary and a big child. The look he gives when he meets a child is invaluable. His drive to put our children to the forefront drives the passion of the staff each and every day. People often say that we can’t make a difference, but he doesn’t have that word in his body because he believes that we will make a difference.
 
Seven years ago Mr. Conrads and a small group had the vision that the children in Morgan County could do more if they only had the tools to succeed. Thus, began the journey to form Boys & Girls Clubs of North Central Georgia that has now grown to a six county region with Clubs in Morgan, Greene and Walton Counties and five 21st Century programs in Greene and Putnam Counties. Under his leadership, on a daily basis we provide services to more than 600 youth and have implemented new programs such as Success for Boys, Success for Girls, BRAG Dream Team (Cycling), Great Futures League (Basketball), Teen Summit and sponsored numerous college tours. Our 2015 Youth of the Year, Kyvin Thompson, credits Mr. Conrads with helping him prepare for competition and to set his own a brand. A brand that stands for “No Child Left Denied.” Mr. Conrads is the light that shines through his actions, a man of few words with a heart that is as big as the ocean. He truly believes that Great Futures start here.  
Clift Crews
Career Achievement - Board Volunteer
Boys & Girls Clubs of Laurens & Johnson Counties - Dublin, GA

Clift Crews serves as the Chief Volunteer Officer for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Laurens & Johnson Counties. He attended Middle Georgia College and is a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Banking and Louisiana State University Graduate School of Banking. He is the Vice-President for The Bank of Dudley, where he has been employed for 44 years.

Mr. Crews is the driving force in the success of the Laurens & Johnson County Clubs. For years, he has tirelessly given his time and emotional support to the Boys & Girls Clubs. His overall contribution to the organization has been a true reflection of his love and concern for the children in the community in which he lives. His commitment was honored in 2014 as he received a National Service Recognition Award from the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. 
 
In addition to his involvement with the Boys & Girls Clubs, Mr. Crews has been very active in other organizations in his community. From 1966-2003 he was an active member of the Dudley Volunteer Fire Department, and was instrumental in establishing the Laurens County Rural Fire Defense Advisory Board. He served as the West Laurens Athletics Booster President from 1994-1999. He also served in several capacities for the Dublin Lions Club, including President (honored as a Melvin Jones Fellow). Currently he is a member of the Downtown Development Authority and has served as Chairman of the Authority. He also was a member of the charter class of Leadership Dublin/Laurens County in 1989. As a member of the Chamber of Commerce from 2001 through 2005, he served as Treasurer for three years. Mr. Crews also served as the Treasurer of the St. Patrick’s Festival for several years and in 1996 served as a Chairman (received the Dick Killebrew Award in 1997). He has been an active member of the Dublin Rotary Club for 10 years. After the untimely death of a County Commissioner in 2008, he completed the unexpired term of nearly a year. He has served four years on the Board of Directors for Promise of Hope with two of those years serving as a Chairman. For more than 20 years he has served on the Board of the local Salvation Army. 
John S. Delaware
Legacy - Lifetime Achievement 
Board Volunteer
Frank Callen Boys & Girls Club - Savannah

John Sanders Delaware (1895-1980) was a product of the Old Fort neighborhood in Savannah, just a few blocks away from where the Frank Callen Boys & Girls Club now stands. Mr. Delaware received a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia State Industrial College, now Savannah State University. 
 
After graduation, he worked in the postal service for 45 years. For many years, he was a mentor to numerous younger, postal service colleagues and kept them out of trouble. In the early days of the Frank Callen Boys & Girls Club (then known as the Savannah Boys Club), Mr. Delaware and Frank Callen solicited funds from both white and black businesses in the city to operate the Club. As the downtown postman, everyone knew him and he knew everyone. 
 
Mr. Delaware was a long standing board member of the organization and served as Board President. Charles Mathis, former Executive Director of the Frank Callen Boys' Club noted in the Savannah Morning News that Mr. Delaware gave not only his money but more than 60 years of his life to the Club from its beginning until his death on November 10, 1980. 
 
The Savannah Boys Club was the first Boys & Girls Club established in Georgia and the second in the Southeast. Through the effective leadership and outcomes of excellence in Savannah, the Boys Club movement got a foothold in the South. This could not and would not have been possible except for the tremendous efforts of Mr. Callen, on the professional level, and Mr. Delaware, on the volunteer level. In the 1950's, through the collective wisdom of the Board of the Frank Callen Boys Club (which included Mr. Delaware) and with the construction of the present day Club, it was determined that the organization would also serve girls as well as boys. The organization was thus a pioneer in serving both genders on an equal basis, a forerunner to today's Boys & Girls Clubs. 
Bob Hutchinson
Career Achievement - Professional
Boys & Girls Clubs of Albany - Albany, GA

For 45 years, Bob Hutchinson has given his time, talent, energy and champion spirit to our Boys & Girls Club Movement. He began his career in 1971 as the Health & P.E. Director at the North Trenton Unit of Boys & Girls Clubs of Trenton. He quickly demonstrated his leadership ability and was recognized by a promotion to Assistant Executive Director of the Trenton organization in 1976. A few years later, Hutchinson made the move to Georgia, where he had accepted the position of Unit Director with the Cedar Avenue Club of the Albany organization. 
 
In 1991, Mr. Hutchinson was named Director of Operations for the Albany organization. Under his leadership the Clubs thrived, growing from three Club units to 11 and serving more than 5,000 youth. He managed the Clubs during a time of momentous change. Because of his tireless efforts, the organization has units in schools, churches and housing projects and youth are exposed to a variety of interests- and needs-based programming. In 2014, Bob was named Chief Professional Officer of the Clubs in Albany, a position he would hold until his retirement in 2015. 
 
Throughout his career, Mr. Hutchinson has worked to better the lives of youth and the community and has received numerous awards and appointments for his efforts. He was the recipient of the 1995 LAW USA Liberty Bell Award and in 2009 was named BGCA’s SE Regional Herman Prescott Award winner. From 1991-95, he served as chair of BGCA’s Southeast Region Human Resource Advisory Committee. Presently, he serves on the Albany Utilities Commission Board and, earlier this year, was named an inaugural member of Boys & Girls Clubs of Albany’s Emeritus Board.
 
Mr. Hutchinson and his wife, Lula, have three children: Rodney, Michelle and Robert Hutchinson, Jr. Their family also includes five grandchildren. 
Ronnie Jenkins
Career Achievement - Professional
Boys & Girls Clubs of America - Atlanta, GA

Ronnie Jenkins is a National Director for Board Transformation Services for Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Atlanta, Georgia. His passion for this work started as a Club member of the Boys Club in Cleveland, TN. For the past 45 years, he has held Club positions from a junior staff member to Chief Professional Officer to numerous executive positions within Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Much of Mr. Jenkins' roots were formed right here in Georgia. As a club member his numerous trips to Georgia coupled with sleepless overnights in games rooms provided a revelation of his future. He spent three years working at the Valdosta Boys Club and eight years in various roles with Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta. He was a Sr. Regional Service Director and directly served the state as the Regional Service Director for the state from 2006-2013. 

Mr. Jenkins is an innovator. He has spearheaded a myriad of tools and resources that supported the growth of the Movement. He has been a mentor and supporter in the development of Club members, local professionals, and BGCA staff. He has literally impacted the lives of tens of thousands of young people and adults alike!
 
Mr. Jenkins holds an A.A. and A.S. Degree as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Nonprofit Management from the College of Urban Affairs at Georgia State University. He holds a Masters Degree in Human Resource Development from Clemson University, with research and emphasis in organizational and individual performance improvement. He received the distinguished National Certification in Nonprofit Management and Leadership by the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance. He was installed as a member of BGCA’s National Masters & Mentors Legacy Group in 2011. He is a recipient of The Professional Association National Contribution to the Movement, and W. Errol Sewell Leadership Award to honor outstanding field service within BGCA.
 
Mr. Jenkins has been married to Jayne Langley Jenkins for 41 years and they have one daughter, Katherine, and a grandson, A.J., who is the apple of his eye.

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